Greek elections: the politics behind failure and the challenges ahead of success

There was media frenzy over fruitless coalition talks and the "last-ditch efforts" to form the so-called "government of prominent personalities". Following Papademos leadership, the option of having unelected technocrats in government again, was under consideration. With the tyranny of pragmatism enslaving politics and society, fully trained economists are seen more competent to spot the right policies. They are supposed to have the skills and experience to ensure successful execution of EU guidelines and maintain effectiveness in a financial environment of ambiguity. Is there any clear evidence to support that? The euro for instance, was launched without significant political institutions behind it, which was not proved to be very clever. However the prospect of a second round of elections, was expected to bring havoc anyway. Under edgy circumstances,  voting -the backbone of democracy- is considered lethal. No need to wonder which section of society might feel threatened when people have their say for their own matters. Apparently a caretaker prime minister took over until elections in June, with a possible "Grexit" making headlines at the moment.

The day after elections: all the latest developments

With more than two years of cuts, layoffs, unemployment and…suicides’ rising toll, Greeks expressed their resentment over the political establishment yesterday, in what appeared to be one of the most low-key general elections.  There were no massive rallies, not excessive use of promotional material whilst for the first time, socialist PASOK and conservative New Democracy avoided setting up in public space their pre-election campaign kiosks, in case passersby attempt to destroy them.

From the beginning, it appeared unlikely for any political party to win a majority. Some believe that the election results officially dropped the final curtain on polity, the time period from 1974 onward, where PASOK and New Democracy succeeded each other in power. With many voters backing small parties and left-wing Syriza achieving its best result ever with sweeping gains in constituencies that traditionally belonged to rivals, there is a merit on that assumption.

Discussion of the bailout in Parliament on 11 February 2012

Το δεύτερο μνημόνιο συζητήθηκε στην Επιτροπή Οικονομικών Υποθέσεων της Βουλής στις 11 Φεβρουαρίου 2012, μια μέρα πριν ψηφιστεί το νομοσχέδιο στην ολομέλεια. Εδώ η ομιλία της Ε. Παναρίτη, βουλευτής επικρατείας του ΠΑΣΟΚ, στη διάρκεια της συζήτησης. Η κα. Παναρίτη ψήφισε «ναι σε όλα.»

The second bailout agreement between Greece and its international lenders was discussed in the Financial Affairs Committee of parliament on 11 February, one day before it was voted upon in the plenary session of parliament. Below is the intervention of E.Panaritis, MP for the governing party PASOK, during the discussion. Mrs Panaritis voted in favour of all provisions of the bill.

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